Letter: Attorneys' letters of support sickening

This letter is in regard to the article "Ahead of sentence, praise pours in," Oct. 23, and the column "Albany's elite defend lawyer who stole $2M," Oct. 24. While the story about the admitted thief attorney is disturbing, I find the letters to the judge from the "elite" attorneys stomach-turning.

I read each letter on the Times Union's website and it literally filled me with anger seeing these "elite" lawyers brag in their letters to the court about their former positions in the Bar Association and the like coming to the defense of a "good ole boy" lawyer who admitted to stealing money.

If the actions of this thief attorney alone don't undermine the public's confidence in attorneys, the nauseating letters from the area's "elite" lawyers attempting to mitigate the criminal and ethical misconduct of an admitted thief dressed in lawyer clothes will cause worse damage to the legal profession.

I have grown my law firm from just me working out of my house 16 years ago to one of the largest law firms in the area because I only care about winning for my clients and I don't care if other lawyers attend my funeral or urinate on my grave. I wish more attorneys in the area would shun those among us who are liars, cheats and unethical criminals with law degrees instead of helping them avoid prison.

Mathew B. Tully


Founding partner, Tully Rinckey, PLLC